Sunday, February 8, 2009

Clinton: Kyrgyzstan base closure decision 'regrettable'

Hillary Clinton is the new Secretary of State and this is the first foreign policy that she is making. Obviously she doesn't want the Manas Air Force Base to be close but she'll have some work to do.

The base will be closed when its lease is up in 18 months. The decision by President Baklyev of Kyrgzstan came after his meeting in Moscow with the Russian President.

This policy will be a major decision in the fight against the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan. General Petraeus, the man in charge of all operations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, said that it would be a huge loss for the United States. With 30,000 more troops ready to be deployed into Afghanistan, it would obviously be a problem that has to be overcome. Without this base, The United States has to find another way to get supplies to Afghanistan as well as another fuel spot for planes. Those planes include the ones that carry the troops in.

We'll see how it plays out in upcoming weeks/months and see if Russia plays a part in keeping the US out of Kyrgzstan.